5 Ways Technology Can Improve Workforce Recruitment and Retention

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Advanced Manufacturers need new talent and must retain the talent they have. Technology may not be able to solve the problem, but it may be able to help. Take a look at the ideas below. Two focus on recruitment, the rest on retention. All are important to think about!

  1. Take advantage of Social Media – this is an easy and inexpensive way to hit a key workforce target – tech-savvy millennials. Social media is a fantastic way to promote your company, your employees and your culture to a potential workforce. Many manufacturing companies see social media as unrelated to their key business or they see it as a sales channel only. But considering the sheer number of young people on social media daily (or even hourly!), you are missing out on a unique ability to reach this audience if you are not taking advantage.
    Post videos and pictures of the cool technology your company uses, the fun things your team does, the new projects you are working on. Have fun with it and show your company’s passion for what you do! Make manufacturing fun and cool and watch the old manufacturing stigmas melt away. Manufacturing is not just cool – it takes great teamwork, technological skill and can be a lucrative career!
  2. Continuous workforce recruitment – recruitment can no longer be as simple as creating a job post for a specific position and putting out an ad – the needs are too high and the skills much more advanced. Advanced Manufacturers need to be more sophisticated in their recruiting agenda, actively seeking and pursuing higher skilled talent as well as recruiting into training, internship and apprenticeship programs. A lot of this can be managed and done online – online job boards, local college programs and even the Department of Labor have excellent websites geared at helping both employers and job-seekers.
  3. Improve your Human Resource technology – today’s employees expect instant access to information that is important to them, like schedules, time-off, and payroll information. Better HR technology also makes it easier to do more tedious tasks, like timesheets, quickly and easily.
  4. Reduce downtime – no one enjoys working in an environment where they can’t get their work done! Many manufacturers have grown very quickly, in short periods of time, but their technology hasn’t kept up at the same pace. Antiquated technology or a shaky infrastructure is not going to draw the tech-savvy workforce you are seeking or keep the employees that you have. If you’d like help with this, drop us a line at contactus@gettingyouconnected.com.
  5. Leverage VR/AR for better training – Virtual reality can be used to practice skills that would not be safe or cost effective to do in the real-world. Augmented reality can be used to train workers on real equipment with direct guidance, live or recorded video, or written materials. For more information on this technology read here. This technology is becoming more mainstream every day, with developers like Google, Microsoft already in the market and Apple, Facebook, and Huawei developing their own, lower-cost, AR smart glasses. Read more about the current state of this technology here.

Of course, technology isn’t going to be the only factor bringing in new talent or enabling you to retain the talent you have, it’s just one more tool in your tool box. With thousands of open manufacturing positions in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts alone, every tool counts!